Miriam Hansen was a film historian who made significant contributions to the study of early cinema and mass culture. Her work focused on analyzing the ways film shaped and reflected social and cultural transformations. Hansen examined the interplay between the cinematic medium and its audiences, illuminating its role in the modernization of society. Her influence lies in a profound understanding of early film as a pivotal phenomenon in cultural history.
Siegfried Kracauer, Walter Benjamin, and Theodor W Adorno - affiliated through friendship, professional ties, and argument - developed an astute philosophical critique of modernity in which technological media played a key role. This book explores their reflections on cinema and photography from the Weimar period up to the 1960s.